Leave Out All The Rest
by RayneSummer
Summary: Chateau AU. Talbot shoots Nate to kill, but misses only slightly, leaving Sully to get them out of there. Chloe and Charlie turn up, having not been able to get a plane to Syria, and the three of them try to save Nate. Only then does he realise what he's got his friends into. Even if this job is going to be the death of them, Sully has still got his back.
1. Chapter 1

**Universe:** Uncharted

 **Characters/Themes:** Nate, Sully, Talbot, Talbot's men, and & eventually Chloe and Charlie; hurt/comfort, family, friendship, revenge (of sorts?)

 _Note: So I was playing Chateu and the bit where Talbot shoots Nate, just grazing his shoulder, interested me. And I began to wonder... what would have happened if Talbot had just lost his patient and properly shot Nate? Sully will be pissed to hell, that's what. I also took the giant spiders away from the story in this, because, well, firstly idk how they'd get away from them while Nate's been shot, and also I just don't like them.  
Edit after finishing: This... got way out of hand. But I like it. Dammit Nate how many people told you this job is going to be the death of you? idk how the rest of the game pans out after this tbh, don't ask me, I'm NOT doing a series! Though it was kinda tempting as I was writing this. But I'm not, because it's a lot of stuff and I just don't have the perseverance. But here's this AU for chapters 6 & 7: Chateau and Stay in the Light._

* * *

"Let's hope the other half is in Syria."

"Yeah," Sully agreed, "and that Cutter and Chloe can find it."

Nate grimaced at that but didn't comment, and they both headed back to the, well, 'doorway' of the tomb, ducking underneath the wall. Only to be met with the sight of Talbot and two of his men standing at the entrance of the crypt, a torch in Talbot's hands and all guns pointed directly at them.

It took a second for Nate and Sully to react; they instinctively reached for their guns, but Talbot said loudly, "Ah. I wouldn't recommend that."

"Shit," Sully cursed as Nate sighed in annoyance and they both glared in the direction of the mercenaries, who kept their machine guns steady. Talbot smirked at the situation.

"Nice work, gentlemen," he said slyly. "Harris, please relieve Mr Drake of the artifact."

The guy on Talbot's left started forward, gun lowered, towards Nate as the treasure hunter took a step forward himself, expression hard, and called mockingly, "yeah, Harris. Come get it."

Sully didn't move as he realised that Nate planned to intercept Harris and get out of the situation. He was sure it wasn't that easy. And sure enough, the second Nate made a move to grab the gun Harris was holding in an attempt to take it off him and get the upper hand, a shot rang out.

It took a moment for him to register and link the shot of Talbot's pistol to the gasp of pain to his right, and by the time he flicked his gaze to Nate, eyes wide, he saw the man, Harris, snatch the artifact out of the kid's hand as Nate stumbled backwards, and collapsed against the wall that hid the room they had just come from.

"Nate!" Sully dropped the torch and immediately knelt at the kid's side, dismissing the men, who drew back silently and exited the room, Talbot shutting the door behind them.

If either of the fortune hunters had been close enough, they would have heard the sly whisper of, "See you in hell, Drake. You get what you deserve," as the door fell shut and pushed them into mostly darkness apart from the dimming of the torch on the ground.

But neither Nate nor Sully were in a position to worry about Talbot's parting words. Nate pulled his hands away from being pressed against the wound, panting harshly, and hissed " _shit,"_ when he made out the blood covering the skin, not to mention his top.

"Okay, kid, okay. Where'd he get you?" Sully asked, voice shaking as he pushed his fear down. _Look after Nate, he'll make it through, then get terrified about how close you came to losing him. Again._ Unable to see much, Sully picked up his discarded torch and propped it up on the wall beside Nate, before focusing all his attention on his kid.

He eased Nate's hands away from where they were clasped against the wound near his left shoulder, and tried to examine the gunshot. It was clearly meant to be a fatal shot, but Talbot had just been a little off-course;the bullet had hit Nate just below his left shoulder and, from what Sully could see, had gone straight through the kid's collarbone, shattering it.

Clenching his teeth in an effort to control panic and anger, Sully pressed his hands to the still-bleeding wound, trying to put pressure on it, but he could feel blood trickling through his fingers, continuing to practically pour out of hole, already soaking Nate's shirt. Dammit. Bullet must've hit an artery or something. _Well, of course it did, being this close to going right through his heart!_ Sully berated himself, and grit his teeth again, forcing fear back down.

"Put pressure on it for a second," he said, taking Nate's hand and pressing it against the wound. He chanced a glance at the kid's face; he was too pale and was already losing consciousness, judging by the effort it took him to open his eyes and blink at Sully. "Stay with me, kid. We're gonna get out." Sully swallowed his fear. "I promise."

Nate just nodded tiredly, blinking as he tried to keep his eyes open. Sully quickly unbuttoned and slipped off his outside shirt, leaving his a-little-less-than-comfortably-warm t-shirt, and began tearing a couple of strips off it for bandages. (And again wondered why the hell they didn't bring first aid kits with them, especially where a reckless Nate was involved.)

He pulled Nate's hand away from the wound again and immediately pressed the cloth to it, grimacing as he felt blood already seeping into the material. He pressed it firmly on the bullet hole and tried to ignore the groans of pain that Nate tried to but couldn't quite smother.

The kid huffed in what was supposedly meant to be a laugh, and Sully glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "If this is fun, I'd hate to see your idea of enjoyment," he commented dryly, in what he hoped was a half-casual voice.

Nate shook his head - trying to convey that wasn't what he was apparently laughing at - hissing in pain as it proved to be a bad move and coughed, breath hitching, before trying for a grin to ease his mentor. The effort was more concerning than reassuring, though, and Sully shushed the kid as he tried to press the cloth further into the wound in hope of stopping the bleeding.

"Good thing you wore a red shirt today," Nate gasped out, cringing as he coughed again and the movement fired pain through his chest and shoulder.

Sully tried to smile at the kid's attempt at humor. "Yeah, well, you know me," he replied, maintaining pressure on the bullet wound. "Always prepared for facing people you've pissed off."

"You piss people off too, y'know," Nate mumbled in reply, his eyes falling shut. Alarmed, Sully took his unhurt shoulder and shook him, maybe a little too forcefully, but the kid was scaring the crap out of him and no way in hell is he letting Nate bleed out in the dark down here.

"Hey, don't pass out on me," he said, but Nate just groaned and didn't open his eyes. "Come on, kid, wake up," Sully said more forcefully, shaking him again. Nate's eyes flickered open and he looked at Sully dazedly.

Sully gave him a strained smile. "C'mon, we gotta get out here. Get you some help."

Coughing again, Nate shook his head, slumping more against the wall as he failed to stay alert. "Nah, it's fine... you get out, I'll - I'll wait here."

"Like hell," Sully replied sternly, and did the only thing he could to bring Nate back to awareness - he pressed more into the wound he was still covering, and winced and muttered "Sorry, kid," as Nate gasped in pain, struggling to sit up, grabbing weakly at Sully's arm to stop the pain.

He glanced around for inspiration, and saw a chink of light by the door - it hadn't been bolted behind the other men as he thought; they still had a way out. Focusing his attention on Nate again, he pressed the kid's hand to the cloth and pushed down, making sure Nate was holding it, and again trying to ignore the choked gasps of pain.

Moving around to Nate's uninjured side, he took the kid's right arm. "Come on, kid. We're gonna get out of here," he muttered, pulling him up as Nate did his best to stand, shaking and weak. He supported him as they moved towards the door, Nate no longer really aware of what they were doing.

"There you go, I gotcha." He kept up a reassurance as he kept Nate standing and kept moving towards the door, blocking everything else out. He was going to get the kid some help; like hell were they deserting this mission here.

He glanced at Nate's too pale face and felt fear grip his heart. "How you holding up, kid? Talk to me," he said in an attempt to keep them moving, keep Nate conscious. _They have to get out of here._

"Huh...?" He blinked at Sully, vision faltering. He'd lost too much blood, and he could vaguely feel it still trickling out between his fingers as he held the cloth to his chest. Everything seemed detached and not important, and there was the horrible taste and smell of metal in the air; the scent of death. There wasn't much going back when a wound was fatal.

Sully didn't say anything else, just continued pulling them forward, fear and terror keeping him supporting the kid's weight as Nate continued to fail in being alert. Poor kid was bleeding out, no doubt about it.

How the hell they got out of the goddamn place was a blur. Sully forced Nate to climb the ladder to the laboratory, helping him as much as possible; more or less dragged him through the chateau, doing his best to ignore the smell of smoke coming from nearby that he couldn't pinpoint and didn't even want to think about. Like they needed more problems right now.

Finally, they emerged out of the front door - which had been ominously pulled off its hinges, yet there were no guards in sight - and Sully felt Nate sag more against him, barely aware of anything, barely conscious, barely able to even stand. He stopped and eased the kid down carefully against the gates the outlined the building, crouching beside him, and dared a look at the place they just came from.

Just as well they weren't there any more, because as Sully watched, the roof suddenly caved in, sending up sparks and more smoke. There was a fire there, alright; and knowing Talbot, probably a deliberate one to kill them. He swallowed as he thought of them if they'd hadn't got out. Shaking his head - there's no point to thinking about things that haven't happened - he turned his attention back to Nate.

"Nate?" Sully said as he picked up the fallen cloth that had been dropped when they stopped,"hey, kid, you hear me?" He pressed it against the wound again, earning barely a wince from Nate. _Shit._ Fear gripped him harder than before and he roughly shook the kid's good shoulder. "Stay with me, okay? Nate? ... _Nate!_ " He called, desperation raising his voice almost to a shout.

Thankfully, Nate stirred and, with effort, opened his eyes to slits, breathing shallow and trying to swallow pain. "Sully," he murmured, before his eyes closed again.

"No, no, no, wake up, kid," Sully said forcefully. No response. He shook the kid again, harder, trying to be careful of his collarbone but too scared to be gentle. Nate groaned and managed to blink open his eyes again.

"Nate, stay with me, okay?" Sully bit his lip and decided their best shot was just to get the hell out of here. Back to the car, drive as fast he could, get Nate to a hospital. This wasn't the end of this story.

He pulled the kid up again, supporting him as Nate whined in pain and tried to get his feet under his to at least stand himself. "Just stay awake, all right? Car's not far, you can make it," Sully said with way more assurance than he felt.

"I'll... I'll try," Nate replied shakily, gritting his teeth as every breath sent fire through his chest. _Dammit._ Sully adjusted his grip and they started through the jungle.

They were barely halfway to where (Sully was fairly certain) the car was when Nate stopped altogether, bringing their painfully slow process to a complete halt. Sully held him at arm's length and looked at him, mind racing, wondering how else to keep him going, but Nate just gave him a vague, dazed, smile, as if in apology, and his eyes fluttered closed and he collapsed, Sully barely catching him before his head hit the floor.

"Oh, no, oh God no," Sully muttered as he led Nate's unconscious form to lean on him, and grabbed the kid's wrist. His skin was cool and clammy and it took a minute to find a weak pulse.

Okay, it really really looked like they were out of luck this time. Sully closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath. This was not how he imagined this adventure ending. Least of all with Nate severely injured and fading - if he didn't do something soon, they were both going to die here.

But he couldn't even think of one plan that would work. In fact, he knew this job would be the death of them. Just... he didn't imagine _this_ being the end. Sully sighed and shifted, needing to move. That was all they could do. Keep moving. Yet he didn't try to get up.

Until he heard the rumble of a car's engine. _Oh, shit..._ Well, now their choices were much easier. Die here in the jungle, or die at the hands of Talbot's men, who were clearly looking for them. Sully mumbled choice swear words under his breath as he tiredly raised his head and blinked at the advancing... red car?

Right, now he was fairly sure he was dead himself too. Maybe Talbot's men had shot him in the back and it was quick and painless. Because he couldn't really think of any other reason Chloe would be driving towards him in their car that was parked in the jungle a quarter of a mile away.

But the car must be real because now it was coming to a screeching halt near them and Chloe was getting out, and Charlie was on the other side and suddenly everything came into awareness. _Nate._

Sully looked down at the unconscious kid leaning against him. "We're okay, kid," he muttered, watching the shallow rise and fall of Nate's chest. "We're gonna get through this," he whispered as the other two reached them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Leave Out All The Rest** , chapter 2

 _Note: I was meant to finish this yesterday but didn't, oops. Sorry about that. Well, more suspense I suppose. Okay, so here is the concluding chapter of the story. Please review - and apologies for anything you think is OOC, mainly with Chloe and Charlie; this is the first time I've written them and it's not the best situation. Thanks for reading. Edit: My gosh that almost-ending bit was dramatic. Nearly worked myself into a panic actually, but that's always a risk with me and my ~dramatic~ writing. Actually that's just always a risk with me. Don't worry about it. Anyway, glad it's finally finished! Hope you enjoy.. iiiin a sadistic hurt!Nate and papa!Sully and ~~faaaamily~~ bbyssss way. If you're from tumblr, you'll get my drift. Specially if you've seen my blog. Anyway, here ya go!_

* * *

It was Charlie's idea to get on a convenient place to France instead of dejectedly leaving London airport after the announcement that, well, _announced_ , that their plane to Syria was cancelled. However Chloe was rather concerned - more than Charlie, at any rate, though she knew all her boys had their macho bullshit issues so often she just ignored their opinions in things like worrying and getting hurt - that the handful of times she called Nate and Sully, neither of them answered their phones.

So she and Charlie headed out in their own hired truck to get to the jungle. Charlie had raised an eyebrow at her when she'd revealed she had been tracking Nate's GPS every now and again since Tibet, but he didn't comment about her a-little-bit-stalkerish protectiveness.

But all in all, despite the trouble she knew everyone could get into - especially Nate, and especially Sully where Nate was concerned - she wasn't altogether too worried until they came across a red car in the middle of the jungle, identical to theirs, suggesting it was rented by the same people.

And that was when Chloe started to get a bad feeling and she gave in to kind-of-stalkerish protectiveness and followed Nate's GPS, and that was when everything turned to shit, the second she saw Sully on the ground, with Nate not moving next to him.

She bolted out of the car, slamming the door behind her, and stared at the situation. "What the _hell_ happened to you two?" She asked hoarsely, kneeling next to Nate before flicking her gaze up to Sully.

He looked exhausted and, if she didn't know any better, she'd say that expression meant he was scared. But they don't get scared.

"Talbot shot him," Sully muttered in reply, sounding broken. Chloe's eyes widened as she took in Nate's blood soaked shirt and the red cloth that covered the wound. She heard Charlie hesitantly approach them from behind her, and, at a loss, looked around to him with fear in her eyes.

Uncharacteristically serious, he knelt next to her and observed the shit situation they had got themselves in. In a second, he too took in Nate's unconscious form and noted how Sully was gripping the kid's wrist, reassuring himself with every passing second that he wasn't dead yet.

Although not a natural leader, with Nate down and both Sully and Chloe seemingly too distraught to make decisions, Charlie took charge. He was frankly terrified too at the sight of Nate pale and _dying_ but while they were still alive, there was still a chance.

"Right, we've got to get him to a hospital," he stated, and glanced back at the car before looking to his companions. "Chloe, you drive," he ordered, and Chloe nodded mutely, getting up and opened the back door of the car for them before getting in the driver's seat.

She watched as Charlie move around to Nate's other side to help Sully support him to the car. "C'mon, mate. We'll get through this," he muttered, pulling the kid's arm over his shoulder. He glanced at Sully and nodded, and the two of them pulled Nate up with them.

At the jolt in movement and pain, Nate briefly found himself coming back to consciousness. He groaned as he felt himself being moved forward, supported on both sides, and thought he distantly heard Sully's voice, full of worry. "Nate? You with us? You're gonna be okay, kid."

Charlie helped Sully ease Nate into the back of the car, then went around the other side to get into the passenger seat, glancing back as Sully shut the door and settled himself with Nate lying half on him, muttering assurances to the kid.

Chloe started the car without a word and they drove off, a fear filled silence filling the car. Nate was the leader of this job, he was strong and determined, and always had a plan. Or, well, not a plan - but was always ready for action. And he was always, always, active; if that meant talking, or reading a map, or fighting... it wasn't hard to forget Nate was in a room.

So the silence that filled the car at the absence of the younger man's presence - not physically, but in every other way - was charged with tension and terror and the knowledge of time ticking away.

Suddenly, there was something to break that silence: a roar of a truck's engine behind them and, although no one had said the fateful words ("what else could go wrong" or something of the sort that usually results in something instantly going very wrong), a black jeep crashed out of the jungle to the car's left and immediately latched onto following the red car.

"Are you bloody kidding me!" Charlie swore as Chloe revved the engine and they shot forward, dangerously close to crashing into every other tree, with the jeep on their tail.

Chloe threw him a look. "Would you mind," she said through gritted teeth. He shrugged, replied, "of course not, darling," pulled his gun out and opened the window before leaning out of it and taking aim at the driver of the jeep.

In the back, Sully just held on - one hand with a death grip on one of the car's handles, and the other trying to keep Nate with him - fearing for all their lives now. As if shooting Nate and burning the chateau down wasn't good enough, Talbot now was going to chase them until they fell off a cliff? They shouldn't have even goddamn started this damn crusade; now the kid's idea was going to get them all killed.

Missing the driver's head for the fifth time in a row, Charlie swore under his breath and leaned back in the car to change his clip. He shoved the fresh magazine in the gun and leaned out of the window again - but pulled back quickly when a burst of gunfire came from the truck.

"Oh for _christssake_ \- !" Sully swore in exasperation as he practically felt the bullets showering the boot of the car. He tried to shield Nate from any shattering glass or stray bullets, but at the speed Chloe was going, they were more likely to crash into a tree and die quickly, which was probably better.

Despite the gunfire, Nate injured, and the speed, Chloe was in her element - this _was_ her job, after all; she was the wheelman. Well, woman. So she was the only one who had any confidence as they sped along, passing within a hair's breadth of trees and snapping vines as they snagged the wheels.

Charlie abandoned his bad attempts to take out the driver of the jeep, and instead held on for dear life with both hands braced against the dashboard. He chanced a look at Chloe. "You have any idea how to shake them? Or where you're going?!"

She grimaced without taking her eyes off the road. "I've got something. Hold on!" She called, and before anyone could reply or ask her what exactly was the plan, she braked hard, spinning a little, and forced the wheel to the right. After a terrifying screech, the car decided not to dump its occupants down the deep cliff they had been about to drive into, and settled itself back down on four wheel with a whine, roaring off again.

"Shit!" Charlie left the idea of swearing more colourfully in favour of twisting around to see if the jeep hadn't been so lucky. Amazingly, the driver was clearly paying attention, because the pursuing car did the same thing - though with the loss of one person from the back, who fell out of the truck and down the cliff with a scream - and rattled off after them, a little further behind than before.

The gunfire started out again, and Charlie carefully chanced a couple of shots from the relative safety of his seat, just poking the gun out of the open window. "Hang on!" Chloe called suddenly, and Sully barely had time to say _"goddammit!"_ before she spun the car around again, braking and twisting the wheel. This time, the tyres screeched in protest as the entire car slid around to face the oncoming black jeep.

"Uh... Chloe?" Charlie eyed the jeep roaring towards them when Chloe didn't move the car. "Chloe... this is not a good plan!" He yelled as the black beared down on them and glanced at her determined expression before shaking his head and closing his eyes with another muttered curse.

Thankfully his trust wasn't misplaced; at the last minute, Chloe put her foot down and their car shot off to the right as the black one smashed into the wall of rocks with a loud crash and couple of screams as the men inside quickly perished under the crushing weight of the truck and rocks.

Sully blinked at the devastation as she gave a grim smile and drove calmly forward to go through the wall the truck had broken, and they found themselves back onto the road to the closest town that both parties had come down what seemed like years ago now.

"Well. Nice one," Charlie commented after a second, to fill to silence. Chloe raised an eyebrow at him with a smirk. But her smile faded as she glanced towards the back, Charlie following suite.

"Assuming that didn't finish Nate off and give Sully a heart attack, this is going great," the Brit added unhelpfully. Sully half-glared up at them from checking Nate, and with a sigh, Chloe turned back to the road, trying not to let her worry show.

Charlie similarly looked out of his window and tried not to start shouting or panicking at their situation. It wouldn't help any, and although he wasn't one to usually panic, this was a time where it was sort of acceptable. Not yet though. Maybe after they knew Nate would be okay.

At that thought, he looked at the back again; took in Sully's tense and fearful expression. "What exactly happened?" He asked quietly. It was a good as time as any to talk, while they were driving in silence.

Sully sighed. "Talbot turned up while we were looking at the underground chambers," he replied wearily. "Got one of his men to take the relic we found off Nate, but of course he wasn't going to give up without a fight. Tried to grab the gun from the guy, so Talbot just shot him."

"Well, that's one way of getting things," Chloe muttered from the front; though not involved in the conversation, she had of course been listening.

"Yeah well I managed to get us out of there, but Nate collapsed and then you guys showed up a minute later." He raised an eyebrow at Charlie. "Nice timing. Of course, I would've expected it if you weren't supposed to be in Syria," he commented dryly.

Charlie shrugged. "Plane was cancelled."

"There's more than one plane at airports."

It took a second for Charlie and Sully to link the murmur to the fact that Nate was conscious.

"Dammit kid, you're scaring the crap out of me," Sully said, but his chiding was undercut by his half relieved tone. He knew they weren't out of the woods yet, but just the sound of Nate's voice - and being snarky - took a huge weight off his shoulders. The kid was going to be okay. He had to be

Nate shifted a little and hissed in pain, but didn't try to move any more. Sully shushed him, worry returning in full force as he tried to keep the cloth pressed down on the bullet wound.

Charlie rolled his eyes, hiding his own mixed worry and relief at Nate's condition. "How you doing, mate?" He asked, a little softer and much more concerned than usual. "Try to stay awake for a minute, we're almost at the hospital."

"Two minutes," Chloe added with a worried glance in the mirror. Nate was still very pale and covered in blood, and she felt the comments were more for Sully's benefit than the fact that he was doing any better.

He opened his eyes to slits to try and take in their current situation before closing them again, feeling exhaustion and sickness pulling him back under. "Not sure I'm gonna be able to - _shit_ ," he broke off for a second, reaching for the wound which was burning like fire again.

Sully stopped him pulling the cloth away and tried to steady him with a free hand on his shoulder. "Easy, kid. You've lost a lot of blood. Just try to stay still," he said, barely trying to hide the worry in his voice.

"Really? Thought that spinning was just Chloe's driving," Nate managed to say, and tried for a smile as he caught Chloe's narrowed eyes at him in the mirror. After all, she'd seen him shot before. He had rights to give her a little grief for it every now and again.

But maybe now wasn't the best time. Gritting his teeth to try and keep the pain under control, and the blackness at bay, Nate fought to finish his first sentence. "...To hold you out on that, Cutter," he muttered, eyes closing again. _Sorry_ , he thought, but lacked the energy to even say it. And losing consciousness wasn't even a little bit of what he was truly sorry for.

"Nate? Nate! Hey, don't pass out on me again, kid," Sully said in alarm, failing to not let panic into his voice, as he heard Nate trail off and go limp in his lap. "Shit," he cursed, more scared than before, and with his less bloodied hand, let go of the kid's shoulder to grab his wrist.

His pulse was weak and too fast; kid really was bleeding out. With renewed fear, Sully knew Nate didn't have long left; they needed to get him help _now_. There was no way Sully was losing his kid after everything they'd been through. The last twenty years can't have been for nothing.

This job may have been suicidal, but they had to see it through. All of them.

"Uh.. Chloe?" Charlie turned to their driver after he read the growing alarm on Sully's face, revealing the fear in his own expression. "Hurry up!"

She didn't need to told twice. Especially when it came to saving the life of a loved one. "Hold on," she warned before putting her foot down _hard_ , and they shot forward, down the middle of the road, past the couple of slow cars that had held them up.

Chloe barely paid attention to the beeping horns of passing annoyed drivers as she sped to the right and down the road, heading straight for the big building at the end of the street. Being the wheel-woman, she had the grace to be quite observant and had already noted the signs in the past five minutes, leading them to the hospital in town.

Sully just held his kid close, a death grip on Nate's wrist, needing the proof he was still alive for a second, convincing himself they would get through this. "Stay with me, son, okay?" He said shakily, and looked up only when the car screeched to a halt in front of the building and Chloe looked around and told them to _Go! A_ nd Charlie jumped out and opened the back door and helped him carry Nate in through the automatic doors and then he was taken away from them and Sully was left standing there, at a loss, alone with the words he always said to Nate but neither of them ever believed. _Gonna get yourself killed._

* * *

Slowly the nurse approached the three people in the waiting area. The eldest had his head bowed and shoulders slumped, as if berating himself for something he hadn't done. The other man was staring into space, looking rather like this wasn't real. And the young woman was curled up on her seat, but eyes open, just staring.

She was the only one who looked up as the nurse walked towards them. "Family of Nathan Drake?"

"Well, we're..." Chloe began, but Sully straightened up at the nurse's voice and looked up at her, heartbreakingly hopeful. "Yeah? He okay?"

Hoping he would be reassured by her body language, the nurse gave him a warm smile. "He's stable, and already making quite the recovery," she said softly, and Sully just closed his eyes for a minute and took a deep breath, before glancing up at her again, looking like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "You can come and see him now if you want; he should wake up in the next hour."

Having answered his question without his asking, Sully smiled back. "Thanks," he was in a sincere voice, and the nurse nodded in understanding. He glanced to his left, but both Chloe and Charlie just stared back at him without moving.

"Go on, mate. We'll come in after a bit," Charlie said, and Chloe managed a small smile and nodded her confirmation. Sully blinked at them, and knew nothing else needed saying. He just nodded gratefully and stood up, facing the nurse.

She gestured for him to follow her down the hallway. They walked for a minute before she stopped outside a room next to the ICU, near enough to be unnerving. With another smile, she carefully opened the door and gestured again for him to go in.

Sully gave her a nod of thanks and entered the room, swallowing and trying to prepare himself for seeing Nate. No matter how many times this happened - and it did a few, in their line of work - he knew he would never get used to seeing his kid so pale and vulnerable and hooked up to machines and IVs.

It just didn't compete with the bright and active version of Nate that was the kid's personality.

So Sully just walked in the room slowly, taking in the soft beeping of the heart monitor (God, he hates those, and so does Nate), and allowing himself to feel relief at just sitting next to the his bed and watching the steady rise and fall of his chest.

Something that he should never take for granted, but always does. It works both ways, of course. Nate's continual ignorance of Sully's various comments about being old, or doing things alone, like carrying matches, always made him wince internally, because he didn't want it to be true, but it was, and he knows it terrifies the shit out of the kid.

Being alone, that is. Nate's always been scared of being alone. Even as a surly teen in Cartagena, the shields of being able to 'look after himself' were weak and he soon accepted Sully's offer of friendship. From there, everything had started. And by everything, it meant how loyal the kid became to Sully, and in turn how protective he became of that scrappy little kid.

That cocky teen had grown up under Sully's guidance, and started doing things by himself - but always coming back. Always reappearing with a sheepish grin after going missing; always ringing to say that he was okay, or at least still alive.

The whole Tibet job two years ago had frankly terrified him when he (finally) found out what had happened. Nate being shot by a traitor of a friend and crawling across a mountain in a blizzard, bleeding out from a bullet hole in his side... the fact that he wasn't there, that Nate could've died without him knowing because he bailed out, was unbearable.

And that was why he had agreed to accompany Nate on this venture. He was as traumatised by not being there for Nate that after they got back, it took a while to let the kid out of his sight properly again (not literally; that would have been hard) for fear of another friend turning on him; in fear of losing him.

 _But this... this job is different_ , Sully thought in concern as he studied the kid's sleeping expression. Nate had become obsessed; had walked out on Elena for this; had given everything he usually worked for up. And Talbot could see how much it meant to him, and so had decided to dispose of him.

Well, hell, that wasn't happening while Nate had his family around.

Sully straightened up in the chair and regarded the kid. "I'm starting to get more and more worried about you, kid," he murmured, a frown creasing his forehead. "I know I always say it, but you really did almost get yourself killed this time. You've given up on easier jobs than this. But there's no way you're giving up now, huh."

He sighed and leaned back, glancing out the window. Cutter and Chloe had both agreed to continue with the plan and go to Syria if Nate was certain they weren't done. In honesty, as Chloe had pointed out, there was little point to waiting for validation. Of course Nate would carry on.

"But, _Jesus_ , you scared the life outta me today," Sully sighed, shaking his head to himself. He couldn't help smiling briefly as he thought about all the times Nate waved off his concern, all the times being mostly after falling off things; the kid never fails to give Sully a scare when he falls to the ground. Generally he just bounces up again, apparently unhurt - then ends up limping around a day or so later because actually he 'kind of hurt his ankle'.

Basically, he's Sully's kid, and the older man can't help but think that he should have told him a long, long time ago. But Nate's always had commitment issues, especially to family. His loyalty to friends says otherwise, however.

Sully sighed again, watching Nate. "I hope we're doing the right thing here," he said quietly. "These guys are playing for keeps... and it's not worth your life." He leaned forward a bit, serious now. "Listen, kid, I've had your back for twenty years. I'm not going anywhere. Obviously," he added, leaning back as Nate stirred.

"There's a 'but' in there." Nate squinted at Sully curiously, who couldn't help but smile at the sight of his steady gaze.

"Welcome back, kid. Yeah, and the 'but' is this," Sully replied, fixing Nate with a serious look. "You're being reckless. And it's never been more applicable than now - you're gonna get yourself killed." Nate just looked at him wearily. "Hell, get us all killed," Sully added with a sigh.

The kid didn't say anything for a minute, then flicked his gaze from the window back to Sully, beginning to sit up. "Are Chloe and Cutter...?"

"Hey, hey, easy." Sully quickly leaned forward to push him back down before a load of machines went off or something. With a reassuring smile, he said, "they're fine. Decided to give me a little alone time. With you," he added at the frown he got for the contradicting statement.

"Right," Nate muttered, and smiled back. "They still up for the task of getting a plane to Syria?"

Taking a deep breath, Sully tried not to feel almost angry. He knew the kid wouldn't call this off now - if anything, definitely not now. He nodded. "Yeah, they're ready if... yeah, they're ready at your word," he replied.

Nate nodded thoughtfully. "Tell them thanks."

"Why don't you tell us yourself?"

The two men looked around, where Chloe was leaning against the radiator next to the door and Charlie rather hesitantly standing in the open doorway. Nate shrugged. "Because you'd tell me to shut up," he replied dryly to Chloe's statement.

Charlie smirked. "She would," he agreed, ignoring the look he got from her. He nodded at Nate. "You doing okay, mate?"

"Yeah, brilliant," he muttered, but grinned back. "I'll bounce back in a bit. So you're up for Syria, yeah?"

"Yep. There's a plane, leaves this afternoon, gets there this evening. We can have a look around, and you join us later. Alright?"

Nate nodded. "Hopefully they'll let me out of here by then," he said with a sigh, as if it being in the hospital for a day because he almost died was a massive inconvenience. Sully gave him a pointed look, and Nate retreated hastily. "You know; I'll be fine in a bit."

"We'll take our leave, then," Chloe said, but as she followed Charlie out, she glanced back and shared a worried glance with Sully. She was the only other one in their little group who really realised where this job could lead them.

The door closed and Sully looked back at Nate, smiling when he saw the kid blink tiredly. "Get some rest," he chided gently, trying not to chuckle when Nate half-heartedly scowled at him. Rest wasn't really something he did.

"Go back to sleep, kid. I'll be here."

This time, as his eyes were already closing, Nate nodded in exhaustion. "Okay... And, you know, thanks," he murmured as he slipped back into sleep.

Sully just sighed and patted Nate's hand, a gesture they'd soon taken as their own. It said 'I love you' in all the ways they couldn't. "Anytime, kid. I'm not going anywhere. Obviously."


End file.
